Comic Conversations: Superman, Green Lantern, The Flash and the Justice League!

There wasn't a lot for me when I went down to on Wednesday and this week's haul was all from DC Comics. First up was:

"Superman #5" by George Pérez and Nicola Scott 

This picks right up after the last issue, when Superman was battling some aliens made of fire and ice and another made up of spiders. Superman recovers from the attack while all of Metropolis watches and that's the point when he starts acting just the way his critics always feared he would.

He destroys the deactivated robots being held as evidence, kills Titano (a giant ape that has attacked Metropolis in the past) and finally executes a team of sky pirates as they're being transferred out of prison. Anybody who has ever read a superhero comic before would quickly figure out that either Superman is being mind-controlled or has been replaced by a doppelganger. 

I think the more interesting part of the issue is at the end, when Lois calls out for Clark Kent while Superman is hanging a man off the side of the building.

This is just after she's called Jimmy Olsen into her office to give her a hand with her computer. Last issue, she had a picture showing Superman flying out of the Smallville Cemetery when Clark was also there.

I'm starting to get the idea that Lois knows that Clark is Superman even though, in this new continuity, they aren't married or together in any way. There's only one issue left with this particular creative team so you could always jump into "Superman" fresh in March.

"Green Lantern New Guardians" by Tony Bedard and Tyler Kirkham

This particular Green Lantern title has been following Kyle Rayner as he's been forced to team up with members of all the other lantern corps.

Kyle became Green Lantern back in the nineties after Hal Jordan went crazy and killed the rest of the Green Lantern Corps before sacrificing himself to save Earth's sun from going out.

He got better.

Kyle's always been interesting because he's a comic book artist, so he comes up with much more interesting constructs with his ring than a bubble or a boxing glove (though I am a fan of the boxing glove construct).

As for the other lantern corps, that's a little more complicated. Let's go through them, Roy G. Biv style.

• Red Lantern Corps – These guys are fueled by rage and tend to vomit up acidic blood. Pretty gross.
• Agent Orange – There's only one Orange Lantern, named Larfleeze, which is understandable since the orange ring is powered by avarice.
• Sinestro Corps – Formed by former Green Lantern Sinestro, this corps is powered by fear and they are adept at causing it.
• Green Lantern Corps – The central power battery of the Green Lantern Corps gains its power from the collective willpower of all living things.
• Blue Lantern Corps – Powered by hope so they can't do much without a Green Lantern nearby, but they also supercharge a Green Lantern ring.
• Indigo Tribe – This corps is still a mystery but one that's about to be revealed in the pages of "Green Lantern." They're powered by compassion and can use the powers of other rings.
• Star Sapphires – The Star Sapphire was originally a villain that took over the body of Hal Jordan's on and off again girlfriend Carol Ferris. Now they're a lantern corps just like the rest, but powered by love.

I've been enjoying this one and a lot more than "Green Lantern Corps" (which I decided to drop after the last issue). This issue has this group of ringslingers exploring a spaceship the size of a solar system. I like this kind of science fiction adventure so I'll continue picking it up.

"The Flash #5" by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato

I wrote an entire article last month, just about , who is writing and drawing "The Flash" and it continues to be one of the best books coming out. You should really check it out.

"Teen Titans #5" by Scott Lobdell and Brett Booth

This issue was a fight scene between the Teen Titans and Superboy. Superboy, right now, is under the control of the mysterious organization called N.O.W.H.E.R.E., which is intent on capturing young people with superpowers.

On the other side, the Teen Titans is made up of Batman's former sidekick, Tim Drake, who is now calling himself Red Robin. He's working with Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Bunker and Solstice.

I think I've been reading "Teen Titans" since the relaunch more out of curiosity about who the new versions of these characters are than out of any love of the story.

I want to know why Kid Flash is Bart Allen when in "The Flash," Barry isn't married and wouldn't have a grandson who was born in the 30^th century. I don't know if Wonder Girl is still the daughter of Zeus but it was implied that she stole her magic lasso from the gods. I really don't know how much longer I'll be getting this or "Superboy," which is also written by Lobdell.

"All Star Western #5" by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti and Moritat

And now for something completely different... "All Star Western" doesn't have any superheroes but, so far, has mostly taken place in Gotham City.

The two stars of the book are Jonah Hex, a bounty hunter with a scarred face, and Jeremiah Arkham, who will one day create the Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane.

Hex is trying to get out of Gotham but keeps getting new work there and ends up working with Arkham again. They keep meeting resistance with a secret society which has also been showing up in the present day in "Batman." I've been enjoying "All Star Western" but I wonder how much longer Hex is going to stay in Gotham before he rides west again.

"Justice League Dark" by Peter Milligan and Mikel Janin

This particular Justice League title focuses on the magic users of the DCU, including one of my favorite characters, Zatanna.

I like the idea of a magic-focused Justice League team. The 'team' was more or less formed when Madame Xanadu saw bad things coming in the future and summoned the members of the team to combat the Enchantress when she went a little mad. It looks like Xanadu has seen more trouble for the team that doesn't want to be a team coming up. I've enjoyed this and I'm definitely on board for a while.

"Justice League #5" by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee

I just don't know about this one. The first issue wasn't that great but it picked up after that.

In the last issue, Darkseid showed up as the big threat. At first I was excited about this because Darkseid is such a great villain. He's the god of all evil and ruler of the planet Apokolips and his only goal is to discover the Anti-Life Equation and eliminate free will.

One of my favorite comics was the story of what happens when Darkseid does this and conquers the Earth. At some point in the future I'll be talking about "Final Crisis" in a little more depth, but just "Justice League" for now.

Here Darkseid is really nothing more than a mute brute who easily handles the Justice League and breaks Green Lantern's arm in two places. I can only hope that there's an upcoming issue where we see that there was a piece of the equation in Metropolis to explain why he went there himself instead of sending one of his countless minions in his place.

There's an odd break in the action too, when Batman and Green Lantern have what amounts to a heart-to-heart chat while Darkseid and his parademons are attacking the city.

Superman's been taken to Apokolips so Batman's going to go get him and for some reason he takes off his cape and cowl to do this. Not only that, but he also peels the bat emblem off the front of his batsuit. I really just don't get what he's doing.

Granted, Metropolis is a war zone at the moment but there's still a chance somebody could spot billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne running around in a grey onesie with black gloves and boots.

Never mind that all the equipment in the cowl could probably come in handy when trying to find Superman in an alien world. I really just don't get it and now I'm ranting at you over this oddity.

I don't know about recommending this one at the moment. I'll have to wait and see how things work out in the coming months.

So that's all for this week but I'll be back next week with even more comics and superhero antics to talk about. If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments or send them to me directly @BJDowd on Twitter.